The old woman nodded and smiled. “I see.” She waved her hand in a dismissive flick at the crowd and they dispersed as if what Helen was looking for wasn’t important at all. That, or they did what this sweet old lady told them like she might be the scariest person they knew.
“I am Eva Badi. Come with me and we will have some tea and talk.”
Helen looked at David. He shrugged, but they followed the Rom woman as she wound her way through the gathered RVs until they reached a small one near the far edge of the bunch. She was quick for her age despite a slight limp, and they focused on keeping up. The RVs had been drawn into a rough double circle, all the side doors facing in toward the middle, where a good-sized campfire burned brightly.
“Come in. It’s small but cozy.” Eva stepped inside and held the RV door open. Unlike most of the other campers, the one they entered was older, and comparatively tiny. It smelled fresh though, like lemon and something…green. Living. A kettle had been left to boil on the two burner stove and it whistled the moment Helen and David took a seat on the built-in benches wrapped around the small table.
Eva set out three cups with silver strainers balanced on the edges. She carefully measured loose tea into the strainers and poured boiling water over the dried leaves. This was the source of the scent that permeated the camper.
“Bianca Donceanu is not someone many seek willingly.” Eva took a seat across from them.
“She… We had a disagreement. A legal one over land.”
“Ah, you’re that one.” Eva nodded at her. “Helen Mathews.”
Heat touched Helen’s cheeks. These people had been talking about her. They likely all knew her secret and all about her the beast inside her. She clenched her fists and tried to stop the incessant jiggling of her left leg. The wolf wanted out.
“I did nothing wrong. The city needed another hospital and the land was mostly swap and owned by the government. There were no legal claims to it.”
“But there was a claim. Maybe not legal, but the Rom had an agreement with the government that we could camp there on our travels.” She clearly knew exactly what had happened, what had brought about the curse.
Helen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I am sorry for the fact you lost the land, but there was nothing to support your claim. No documentation. And like I said, the city needs the hospital. It’ll help thousands of people.”
“I have no doubt it will.” Eva took her strainer out of the tea and set it aside. “But you took something from us.” She filled a teaspoon with sugar and tipped it into the cup. “So we gave you something else.”
“You cursed me,” Helen hissed. David grabbed her hand, clearly sensing the strain she felt and the anger. Eva merely gave a half smile and nodded.
“There are some who wouldn’t consider what was done a curse. There are some who would say it was a gift and that you didn’t deserve it. Either way, Bianca Donceanu is not here. She rides with her band. We have no magic here, just a few families with little of the old blood, and me.”
“Ah!” Helen stood abruptly and growled. Her nails were already changing and she welcomed it. Maybe the wolf could get this old woman to talk, to tell her the truth and take the curse away.
David stood too. “I’m sorry, we need to go.”
Eva pursed her lips and nodded. “She needs to go. But you should stay. This RV is for guests. I thought, so close to the moon time, you might need a safe place to stay. The band welcomes you…” She raised her eyebrows in question.
“David Sherman,” he filled in for her.
“David. We welcome you and Miss Mathews, as long as you keep the peace.”
That was quite enough. They weren’t going to help her and now David was cozying up to the old Gypsy. Helen yanked open the door and strode out. Darkness had fallen. She headed away from the people, away from the fire and out into the shadows. She needed to run.
David sighed. Eva was more than pleasant, and she’d introduced him to a few of the men and women in the camp. But she wasn’t the woman he was waiting for, again. Seemed like he was always waiting on Helen. And she was always leaving him behind. He couldn’t even chase her, not on two feet rather than four. At least she hadn’t run as long this time, returning after only a couple of hours.
He took a seat around the campfire with a plate of food in hand. Something called bokoli—thick pancakes stuffed with meat. They ate often like this apparently, sharing meals in a buffet format and singing and dancing around the fire as long as the weather permitted. Not a bad life.
“Always, the Rom have been hunted.” Eva’s rich voice came from nearby and as she spoke the music died away. “There have always been the people, and the people have always wanted freedom. We travel, and those that do not understand us, they hunt us.” People called out their agreement from around the fire. This story had been told before, that part was easy to tell, but David understood it was being repeated tonight for his benefit, and for Helen’s.
He’d seen her glowing eyes shining from where she’d crept under the guest camper after her run. She was listening too, although he wasn’t really sure how much she understood. Enough, perhaps, that she might get a better understanding about the Rom, and that would help them in the long run. In the mean time, he’d listen for her.
“In the old country, we made music and art and healing potions. Much as we do now.” Eva nodded at various members of the band and they nodded back. “Sometimes, we added a little magic to our creations. This was our downfall.”
David put his plate down. Magic. Now they were getting somewhere.
“In our pride we flaunted our talent and magic, building masterpieces of art and architecture in our houses, and we came to the attention of the evil one, Vlad, prince and murderer. He hungered for nothing but power and blood. And once he found us he picked us off, one by one, until the first grandmother made the choice.
“Why do we wander?” Eva addressed the little ones who had gathered at her feet.
“Because we have wandering feet!” piped one small girl.
“Indeed we do. But we wander because of the choice that was made. To never be pinned to a home where evil could trap us. We left our houses, our beautiful homes, that very night. We went by foot, by carriage and by wagon. And so we were saved. And our magic became the path we followed. And when the wars came to our land again, we moved the path and left the old country, and sailed to America.”
“They hated us in the old place,” the little girl claimed.
“Sometimes people don’t like us here, either.” A teenage boy said, his voice breaking. David followed the voice and spotted a young man staring at him.
Eva waved her arms and brought all eyes back to her. “In every band there is a grandmother to carry the ways and light the path. I have sensed the path will shift soon and passed this on to the other bands.”
Muttering broke out among the adults.
One woman stepped forward. “But Grandmother Eva, I just got that deal at Castaway Art. We could sell a lot there.”
They seemed to have forgotten David’s presence, but the teen boy refused to let it go. “Are we leaving because of him? Ruv Danior says the woman stole our land.”
Eva shook her head. “Vano, I told the story tonight of the first path because you and others seem to have forgotten where our magic lays. There would be no ruva if we worried about any one piece of land.”
The woman who had worried about her art deal spoke again, “Then why did Grandmother Donceanu fight for the marsh camping ground?”
“The path was set at that time. Now it shifts. Perhaps the path stayed long enough to bring Miss Mathews to us.” She looked at David and the rest of the band followed suit. Not all the faced turned toward him were upset, but many were.
He swallowed and stood. “I think it’s time for me to say goodnight. Thank you for dinner. And the place to stay.”
“You and the ruva should go,” the boy shouted at him but was quickly hushed by several others.
Eva stood. “David Sherman and Helen Mathews have been welcomed.”
A murmur of agreement passed through the crowd. Even the boy nodded and looked away, apparently ashamed.
“Thank you,” David said quietly to Eva, “we’ll go in the morning.”
She nodded. “Before you go I will have another cup of tea with you.”
David held the door open and she leaped inside. She’d watched the evening’s events unfold carefully, but wasn’t sure if she’d caught everything. It seemed she could understand body language on a much deeper level but the nuances of tone and language left her in wolf form. She trotted into the tiny bathroom and nosed the door shut so she could change in private.
He’d had a good meal; she’d hate to make him lose it if she changed forms in front of him.
Unfortunately, the change left her naked again. “David? I’m sorry, but would you mind grabbing my clothes from the SUV?”
“I already did, this evening while you were off sulking.” There was a thud, which she assumed was her bag hitting the bathroom door. Great, she’d pissed him off. Rightfully so, considering she’d left him with a bunch of possibly hostile people, people who were her problem, not his.
She opened the door slightly but couldn’t see him. The bag was there though so she reached out and grabbed it. There was still fresh underwear, although everything else had been worn at least once. A few minutes later she walked out of the bathroom dressed and found David stretched out fully clothed on the double bed at the back of the camper, one arm thrown over his eyes.
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you here with these people. I… I couldn’t help it.”
“These people were very nice to me.”
She sighed. “I know. I don’t really understand why they cursed me like this, if Eva is any indication of the way the other Rom behave.”
He reached out a hand and she put hers in it. When he pulled gently, it was easy to sit, to be near him and take in the simple fact that she enjoyed his company, very much.
“Did you hear their story about why they travel around?” he asked.
She nodded. “It explains why they were so mad at the loss of the camping spot. It messed with their magic as well as their way of life.”
“Yeah. And I think that kid, the mouthy boy, knows some stuff about the wolves.”
“Ruva means wolves. Ruv is a single wolf.” She ran her finger absently over his arm, felt the strong muscles under her long-sleeved T-shirt.
“I figured.” He pulled her down for a kiss and whispered against her lips, “Mystery solving done for the night. Be with me.”
Light at first, he kissed her until her heart began to pound in a rhythm that matched his. Then he slanted his head and took it deeper, reveling when she returned the pressure.
She opened to him, and he took the opportunity offered, licking her lips and sliding his tongue into her mouth. She tasted dark and delicious, maybe Helen and magic and the night mixed together. He traced his fingers down her arms, then up her sides until he brushed the edge of her breasts. She shivered.
When he cupped her breasts through her T-shirt, they both moaned. She wasn’t wearing a bra. He pulled away a bit, enough to leave her lips and look in her eyes. She stared at him, and then leaned in. That was invitation enough. He tilted back onto the bed and brought her with him. The mattress wasn’t all that wide or long but it was heaven. She straightened her legs and the last bit of sanity he had fled as her yoga-pant covered heat fit perfectly over him.
If she’d still been naked, he would have taken her immediately and hard. Thank God, she’d dressed after her shift. He had to do this right. They’d be on the road again in the morning, and knowing her, she’d try to push him away again before they approached another band of Rom. It might be their only time for a while, and he wanted—needed—to know he’d given her his best.
He kissed her again, or maybe she kissed him. He took his time tasting her, and she ground against him in response. Going slow was going to take some willpower. He explored her breasts with both hands until she huffed in frustration and pushed him out of the way so she could pull off her T. Damn. Her breasts were beautiful, small and perfect and creamy with rosy tips. He leaned up on one elbow and took her breast in his mouth, sucking hard. He palmed the other and kneaded her soft flesh. She moaned in encouragement and ran her hands over his chest to tease his nipples in turn. She pinched one, and he wrapped an arm around her and rolled them both over, so she was underneath him.
He kissed her throat, her collarbone, her breasts. Then slid one hand down the delicate skin of her belly to the edge of her yoga pants. He ran his fingers over the seam of the material from hipbone to hipbone while he circled one of her nipples with his tongue. He drew her deeper into his mouth and slipped his hand down to cup her heat.
She spread her legs wider in response and he smiled at her eagerness. Everything was going fine until she grabbed his cock through his jeans and rubbed. Next thing he knew he was hauling her yoga pants down and pressing his fingers deep inside her. His own pants were down around his calves, and her hands were wrapped around him. He fought for control. Helen had to get the very best of tonight. He slid down between her legs and tasted heaven. She shuddered. Again. And again, and then she arched her back and cried out in release.
A condom. He retrieved a packet from his jeans pocket and tore it open. Jesus. He might explode soon. He kicked off the jeans, got on his knees in front of her, and rolled it on. He took a long breath. She was making him lose his mind. He caught her legs in each hand, centered himself and tried to slow his breathing as he pressed inside her.
It took everything he had to take it slow and savor the moment, the intense pleasure of being completely engulfed in her. He set the pace, a slow one, goddamnit, and let go of one leg so he could stroke her. Her eyes blanked and she whimpered and shuddered under him. With each thrust in, he circled her clit, until she tried to feebly push his hands away. Instead he picked up the pace and thrust harder, keeping up the circles with his wet thumb against her sensitive flesh.
“David…” She moaned his name, and pleasure wound down through his spine, straight to his balls. “David!” she screamed, stiffening under him in a hard orgasm. He came too, hard enough to make his vision blurry. She was everything he’d ever imagined.
She threw back her head and howled. Not something he’d imagined there. But he’d take it.
Chapter 12
The double bed was entirely too small. David had wrapped himself around her, which meant he was also partially over her. And she needed to pee. Getting untangled was a chore when all she wanted to do was to stay with him, sleep in and maybe have morning sex. Finally, she managed to slip off the bed. He groaned a little, but his eyes stayed closed and she grabbed her yoga pants and T-shirt and headed to the bathroom.
She’d just finished getting cleaned up when a soft tapping at the door caught her attention. Eva. David had mentioned the grandmother—an honorific term that carried a lot of respect but perhaps no family ties—wanted to have tea with them before they left.
Helen flipped the lock on the camper door and waved the elderly lady in. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. And how was your run last night, dear?” Eva stepped inside and placed a covered basket on the table. Helen stood back and hid a smile as the tiny woman took charge of the tiny kitchenette and quickly put a kettle to boil. Helen had never had a grandmother that she could remember, and magic and curses aside, this one seemed like the epitome of what she’d imagined family could be. Bossy, knowledgeable, caring.
“I’m so sorry for the way I acted last night—”
Eva waved the comment away and laid out three cups and tea strainers, and the same loose tea as the afternoon before. As she did, Helen caught the slight sounds of David stirring. With a groan he climbed out of bed and staggered a bit to the bathroom. Eva lifted her eyebrows and smiled. The man didn’t have a stitch of clothi
ng on. Maybe having family drop by so early in the morning wasn’t the best of things after all.
David called from the bathroom. “Helen, was that Eva?”
She had to laugh. “Yes.”
“Could you bring me some clothes?”
Eva smiled indulgently and Helen grabbed his pack from the bench and handed it to David when he cracked the door.
“You feel better now that the moon is waning, yes?”
Back to business. “Yes. I really am sorry about running off.”
Eva stood and collected the kettle, now boiling and beginning to whistle. She poured the water. “I understand the ways of the ruva, dear. The need to be free. It comes from the magic that makes our path.”
“Do you think Mrs. Donceanu will take it away? The curse? I really am sorry about the camp, I didn’t understand about your people and the land didn’t seem to be of any real use. The hospital was perfect there.”
Eva studied her for a moment. “Do you really hate the wolf, Helen? Hate the strength, the passion, the freedom that comes with it?”
Helen sucked in a breath. Her heart pounded and she could almost hear the wolf’s undulating howl. The one she’d made last night, bidding the moon goodbye. And passion? Was her passion with David simply a bit of the magic? She’d never had the kind of response to a man as she had to him, but was that real? Her heart thumped oddly in her chest.
David opened the door to the bathroom. Thankfully, he’d found jeans and another button-down shirt and wasn’t giving Eva another show. Had he heard Eva’s question?
“Good morning, Grandmother. Sorry about that.”
“It’s a morning full of apologies. Not to worry. I still appreciate a good looking man.” She patted his arm as he sat and he blushed at her comment.
Eva didn’t seem to be waiting for Helen’s answer and that was a good thing, because she didn’t have one. She lifted her tea strainer from the cup and picked up the tea to blow on the hot contents. The aroma filled the room and seemed to fill her too, soothing and warming her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the scent and tried to still the ache in her stomach.
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